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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24134368">anatomy of a hero</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/jellyfishbells/pseuds/jellyfishbells'>jellyfishbells</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>My Hero Academia: Vigilantes (Manga) - Fandom, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Family Feels, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Gen, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader Needs a Hug, idk haven't planned the romance bits tbh</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:16:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,795</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24134368</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/jellyfishbells/pseuds/jellyfishbells</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Tell me, what does it mean to be a hero?" A pause. "And is it- will it ever be worth it?"</p><p>An exploration of what it means to be hero in the BNHA universe, featuring the Shuuzenji family as original characters. Other characters will added to the tags once they appear in the chapters.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. like him</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer: I do not own Boku no Hero Academia.<br/>For more author's notes, see below.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Another day, another large-scale villain attack.</p><p>You did notice that it had been too quiet lately, though you had hoped that it would last. No rest for the wicked they said, and the reverse was also true - no rest for the heroes.</p><p>The villain this time had a fire quirk. You hated fire, it spread far too easily. You hated burns, because they were difficult to treat, even with all the experience that you had accumulated over the years. But you hated the combination of the villain attack and fire even more, because it reminded you of events in your childhood that you'd wished had never happened. It reminded you that the current Number Two Hero was a scumbag who had abused his wife and his children.</p><p>How was this even real life?</p><p>You were thinking about it a lot these days - the disconnect between what should be and what is. Why were people so selfish? How could they choose to hurt others so easily? And how could they continue to do so when faced with clear signs of their victim's pain? Perhaps it was naive of you or because you had a sheltered upbringing, but you just couldn't understand- almost didn't want to understand that, but you did. You wanted- you want to understand.</p><p>It was- still is hard for you to muster that resolve to hurt villains even though it was for hero work- you knew that you had to protect the civilians- that you had to put down the villains- but was this really "justice"? Could there be another way? You had gone into hero work knowing such and wanting to change it, but you were only a cog in the giant machine of society. You haven't changed anything and you couldn't find an answer. These days, you doubted that you ever would.</p><p>You think you understand the boy with the old blue eyes now. These days, you try not to think of his name because it's painful- it hurts to think of him. It made- makes you feel hopeless and helpless. You know that he'd be disappointed with you if he could see your sorry state. It was strange because you were so sure back then, so sure of your goal and thinking about him- keeping your shared dream alive was what had kept you going, but now, those memories- these feelings felt like a burden. Maybe that's why he left. Because he couldn't believe in that idealistic happy ending that you had dreamt of, were so sure of. But he had promised, didn't he? That we would change how things were, that we wouldn't "settle" for what we had back then. But was that what had truly happened? Had he ever said that he wanted to be a hero?</p><p>"I wish you could tell me, Touya."</p><p>.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <b>Author's Notes</b>
</p><p>My hand slipped lolol jk I've been planning this story since quarantine started actually, tho its premise has changed many times. But this has been a story that I've been thinking about since I started reading BNHA years ago and the themes are things that I have always wanted to explore!!</p><p>The narrative may jump around here and there but the main timeline is gonna be: pre-canon, vigilantes, and canon! Pre-canon is gonna be quite long as it is a slow burn (as most of my stories are) haha but I've very loosely planned the whole story (details will be added along the way!) till current canon though we have a long, long way to go ahh</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. the shape of your dream</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You didn't always want to be a hero.</p><p>You didn't really plan on becoming one before Touya. You wanted to be a doctor. Everyone had always said that your quirk was well-suited to it and that you would make a fine doctor but you knew that the unspoken question always lingered- <em>"Why not a hero? Like your grandmother, your father and your mother?"</em> </p><p>You remember your first (and last) quirk counselling session well (if it could have even been considered as such). It had mostly consisted of the counselor praising your quirk, the work that your family did and asking whether you had chosen your hero name. You had only smiled and shook your head because you knew that it was impolite to shout, "I don't want to be a hero!" at strangers. But you did want to shout at him because he- and everyone else really, didn't know what being a hero really meant. </p><p>You didn't know either, but what you knew was this: seeing and being able to spend time with your parents only once every two weeks for family time, Todoroki Rei's delicious homemade food- because your mother never had the time to cook, your grandmother tucking you into bed after returning from the hospital as your parents prepared for a night shift, feigning sleep in the car after your parents had taken your sister and you out so that you could be carried to your bed, asking your big sister, <em>"Why did mummy and daddy break their promise again? Did they forget?"</em> and receiving a strained smile in response, hanging Christmas decorations with your Aunt and her family because there were more villain and potential suicide cases during the holidays, birthday presents left by your bedside because there had been a bank robbery downtown, asking your parents whether they loved you and receiving hugs and a verbal reassurance that yes, they did love you but they were sorry- they were very sorry that they had no time to show it.</p><p>You knew that it was good to be a hero, that it was good to protect others, and you were proud of them - your parents, your grandmother. But you didn't want to become like your parents or your grandmother. You didn't want to carry on the "Shuuzenji family lineage". And your big sister didn't want to either. Her quirk wasn't suited for it, she had said.</p><p>Your parents and your grandmother had respected that, even when others had said that, "It was a waste." or that "Healing quirks were rare." They would always, always say that it was something for your sister and you to decide on - a decision that they would always be proud and supportive of. And you had loved them even more for that, because they had never- would never have forced that path on you.</p><p>But even if you didn't want to be a hero, you knew that you wanted to help in some way, shape or form. Your grandmother, mother and father were all fighting so hard- of course you had to help! So you asked your big sister. She had ruffled your hair, called you a "good kid", and said that the both of you could explore together. After watching a documentary made by "Borderless Doctors", you had decided. Your parents were proud that you had wanted to help, but nevertheless, they were worried for you- worried about the expectations that others would put on you. But even then, they could not deny that your quirk was practically made for surgical procedures. You were still young, and your dreams for the future might change, but there was no harm knowing a little more about first aid and human anatomy, they reasoned.</p><p>You were eager to learn and practice. So you did, and that was how your dreams begun to take shape. </p><p>.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <b>Author's Notes</b>
</p><p>Still stuck in the early days of pre-canon for now. Note that the narrator is Rea-chan who is still quite young, very very impressionable and very much oblivious to the responsibilities of a doctor and the concept of overtime lol but her parents ain't gonna burst her bubble just yet</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. quirk</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You manifested your quirk when you were two.</p><p>To be exact, you had activated part of your quirk. It had been a small thing- you had fallen after chasing a pigeon in the yard, legs still shaky and unused to walking quickly. That had been your first scrape which bled and you had cried terribly, catching the attention of your grandmother and sister, who then saw how your wound had scabbed over in seconds. After your nap, the scab had started to fall away, revealing pinkish skin underneath. Your grandmother had broken the news over dinner and there had been a moment of silence before your parents broke out into cheers, praising you for manifesting your quirk. You were happy with the attention, but noticed that your sister was quieter than usual.</p><p>After that day, you saw less and less of your sister. Sure, she was still willing to play with you when you asked, but she stopped seeking you out and spent more days with her friends. You threw many tantrums but your grandmother refused to let you out of the house, except for days spent at the Todorokis. But even then, you were slow and your sister was quick to leave you behind. The change had been rather jarring for you as your sister had been a constant presence and had always, <em>always</em> entertained your requests, however bossy you were. You didn't understand what was wrong and it seemed that no one wanted to tell you.</p><p>Lately, your family members kept talking amongst themselves- either your father and your sister, your mother and your grandmother or your grandmother and your sister. They talked among themselves and you weren't allowed to listen because <em> "you weren't old enough"</em>, which wasn't true- you already had your quirk, you were old enough! It wasn't fair, and you had cried- <em>you had cried a lot</em>, but things didn't change.</p><p>It was only many years later that you learnt that local reporters had managed to get ahold of the fact that you had manifested your quirk despite the precautions that your grandmother had taken when she brought you to register your quirk. Articles titled, "The second coming of Recovery Girl?" or "Another healing hero in the making?" had popped up on various sites, discussing the possible permutations of quirks that you could have received, and these speculations continued to follow you until middle school. By then, the general uses of your quirk were public knowledge.</p><p>You realised that it had probably been the same for your sister.</p><p>(But she didn't have a healing quirk.) </p><p>.</p><hr/><p>
  <b>Author's Notes</b>
</p><p>Broke this chapter into two cos the flow didn't seem to be working well? Still editing the later half but just wanted to post this first, next chapter will go into more details of Reader's quirk hnnggg I wanna hurry and finish the early days of pre-canon but writing is hard ahh</p><p>TLDR of the chapter is: living up to others' expectations is hard, isn't it- be it as a sister or as someone related to very established heroes lol</p>
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